


Simple Amusements

by jordypordy



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Descriptions of dead children, Gen, brief mention of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 06:05:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2611157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordypordy/pseuds/jordypordy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaze and Silver take a detour to a disheveled amusement park while on the way to a trading outpost and get a brief experience with the wonder and whimsy of childhood that the two had had robbed from them.</p><p>Post nuclear war/post-apocalyptic AU. -One Shot-</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simple Amusements

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this about a year ago, but recently reread it while going through the writing tag on my Tumblr. This is the first fic I've reread in a long time that I haven't detested and I still think I did a good job with it. So I figured, why not post it here?

They noticed it in the setting sun. The Ferris Wheel and roller coasters were silhouetted against the deep red and orange sky.  At first, they couldn’t quite make out what it was, as the two figures could only see it on the horizon line, but as they approached it they saw the sign that gave it a name on an abandoned highway.  “Twinkle Park- Exit 2A”. The text was barely legible, having been worn down by the elements for the past half a century or so.

The more steadfast one of the two, a cat by the name of Blaze, paid it no mind. It wasn’t until she felt the lack of the presence of her partner that she turned around. “Silver?” she questioned. It wasn’t like him to fall behind. They relied on each other and getting separated in a world like this could prove to be a fatal mistake. He was about 10 feet behind her, staring blankly into the direction of the amusement park. Curious, if not mildly annoyed, Blaze approached him. “What on earth are you staring at?”

“It’s that amusement park,” he answered while turning his head towards her, “there’s something about it… I kind of want to go visit it.” He shrugged.

“That would put us way behind schedule though.” They had two days to get the nearest survivors camp for a chance of trading for some valuable survival tools. Blaze felt her stomach growl as she remembered how low on food they were. She didn’t know if they even had enough food to last them the two days that they needed.  “We probably won’t make it in time. Plus, why on earth do you want to go there. There’s no way there’d be any supplies.”

His answer was simple. “I’ve never been to an amusement park.” He looked crestfallen and defeated when he said it. At 14 years of age, they both had been robbed of a normal and happy childhood by being born into this waste ridden world. Fighting for survival against mutants, bandits, murderers while always having been on the move left very little time for what the elders called “down time”.  “Just once-ONCE- I want to feel like a kid.”

Silver had had it especially bad. His mother had died in child birth and his father had always blamed Silver for it resulting in him getting emotionally and occasionally physically abused. He would never admit it to anyone but Blaze, but he was secretly glad when his father was murdered in a camp raid when he was 7. After that, Blaze’s family had adopted him and she became a security blanket it for him and the two became incredibly close. The two were left on their own when they came back from a supply run to find their camp abandoned when they were 12.

Blaze sighed. “Well I suppose maybe there could be some stale popcorn or something leftover there.” She smiled slightly and adjusted her backpack.  “If we walk fast enough we might be able to make it before sunrise.” She felt his chest fur on her shoulder as Silver ran up and gave her a hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!” He let go and ran off down the exit.

* * *

 

They sat by the crackling fire that Blaze had started. They were about 20 minutes away from the entrance to the park. Silver was being unusually quiet. Normally he’s joking around or trying to imagine what life would have been like if they had been born before the war. But now he was just silent.

“Hey, you okay Silver?” Blaze inquired.

“Huh?” The sound of her voice jolted him back into reality. “Oh, uh, yeah I’m fine. I’m just thinking about stuff.” He sighed and took a spoonful of beans out of the can he was holding. Inwardly Blaze frowned. She was going to ask if she could have the rest of that. He was silent for a few more moments before suddenly saying “I’ll take first watch tonight. You had better turn in.”

Blaze was going to protest, but suddenly exhaustion caught up to her and she couldn’t find the energy to object.  She mumbled a quiet “thanks” before manipulating the fire to become lower and less intense.  She dug through her backpack for the raggedy old blanket they used- well Silver used. Being able to control fire, Blaze was never really cold. She walked over to him and wrapped it around his shoulders. He glanced up and smiled. “Goodnight Silver.” She walked back over to her backpack, and using it as a pillow, she fell asleep almost immediately.  Dreams of a brighter future danced through her head.

* * *

 

The next morning they packed up camp and headed towards the park. Silver was back to his normal self, chatting it up and joking about whatever came to his mind.

The road leading to the park was crowded with cars. Some were burnt out with skeletons still inside. They had long since gotten used to the sight and smell of death, but whenever they found a skeleton that was just too small or surrounded by dolls or action figures, they both feel an indescribable feeling well up in their guts. They passed a lot of those on their way to the park. More than usual.

“Why…why are there so many children?” Blaze asked hollowly as she inspected a car for any supplies. It was the fifth one they had checked that had a child in it. This one even had a car seat meant for an infant. She tore her gaze away and swallowed hard.

“I’m guessing they were using the park as a bomb or refugee shelter during the early days.” Silver sighed as he reached in and grabbed something out of the van he was checking. Expired granola bars. “Parents brought their kids because they thought they would be more comfortable. I guess some didn’t make it.” He pocketed the bars and returned to where Blaze was. “I don’t think we’re gonna find much more in terms of food or anything useful. These cars have been here for a long time.”

Blaze nodded. “Yeah. Let’s just get to that park.” And so they continued.

They reached the entrance about 5 minutes later. Neither had spoken much along the rest of the way. Heavy thoughts weighed down their minds.

They stopped in front of the entrance for a moment before silently entering. The parking lot was filled with skeletons. The park itself was oddly in pretty good condition. While there obviously wasn’t any electricity flowing through the circuits that ran through the many rides and attractions, it looked as if people had been riding just yesterday. They were both in awe.

“This is unbelievable”, Blaze breathed. “I can’t believe that people used to just visit this sort of place and have…fun.” She looked over at a game booth. Although covered in dust, most of the stuffed animals that would have been offered to the lucky victors still hung in the back, fully intact. Suddenly, a light aqua aura surrounded one of them- a blue unicorn. It floated over to her and gently landed in her arms.

“And here we have our lucky winner!” she turned around to see Silver lowering his hand and grinning ear to ear. “I hope you like unicorns little miss, because that’s what you’re walking home with!” Blaze laughed and playfully punched him in the arm. “Hey now, that’s no way to treat someone who just gave you a gift, is it?” Silver grinned sheepishly. Blaze punched him again.

They continued to explore the park. The machines were all rusted and broken down beyond repair but a sense of whimsy still emitted from everything. If they closed their eyes, Silver and Blaze could still here the music that would be playing through the long broken intercoms.

If a ride looked like it could sustain both their weights, they would climb on it and pretend to be experiencing the thrill of the amusement park for the first time. It was dumb, extremely dumb, but for a brief moment they felt like kids.

The sun was beginning to set when the happened upon the Ferris wheel. It was situated in the back of the property and by Ferris wheel standards, was pretty small. And for some reason, Silver really wanted to get on it.

“Why?” Blaze asked. “It’s broken down, and not even that tall. It’s getting dark, we should find a place to camp out.”

But he persisted. “C’mon I have an idea, just trust me.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the trolley closest to the ground. “Now just wait a minute.” He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, as if in deep concentration. Suddenly, the seat they were sitting in began to glow. Then the whole trolley. And then the whole wheel. “Silver…?” And then, shockingly, the Ferris wheel began to spin. It spun slowly, slower than the speed it would have been going at if it was actually operational. But spinning non-the-less.

As they began to rise, panic slowly began to prick up in Blaze’s gut. “Silver…!” She was deathly afraid of heights, and she knew he knew that. He opened his eyes and smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry. Just look at me and don’t worry.” He closed his eyes and continued to concentrate. Blaze breathed deeply, and stared at him. She felt calmer as they reached the top of the wheel.

Silver opened his eyes and the glow disappeared from around them. He reached over and grabbed her wrists. “I know you’re scared. But I want you to just look straight out to the right of you. Not down. Not up. Just straight out. Can you do that?” She nodded slowly as Silver let go of her wrist. She slowly turned her head, eyes shut, to the right. She opened her eyes and gasped.

She could see for miles. The highway, the ruins of an abandoned town and the remains of a city, all on the horizon. All beautifully lit up by the crimson sky. “This is amazing.” She breathed as he turned back to Silver. He was staring out, using his arm as a support as he leaned over the edge of the trolley. He turned to her and smiled.

“Isn’t it?” He looked to the left and down and back at her. “It’s kind of sad.” He mused.

“What is?”

“This whole park.” He gestured out to the rest of the rides and games below them.  “This place used to be so full of joy and laughter. And now look at it. It’s empty and falling apart.”

“No it’s not.” Blaze told him.

Now it was his turn to be confused. “What?”

“It’s not empty. We’re here.” She smiled. “And I’m willing to bet that we’re not the only two who have come to visit this old place." She paused for a moment, suddenly remembering the copious amounts of wildflowers that had they had seem growing through cracks in the aged cement. "Plus, the wilderness is starting to retake this place.” She was silent for a second. “Life goes on.”

Silver smiled. “I…I guess you’re right.”

“If life didn’t continue, we wouldn’t be here together.” Blaze looked out over the horizon again. “Sure bad things may have happened in the past, but we have to move and make it better. Who knows, maybe in another 50 years, this place will be restored and up and running again.”

Silver chuckled. “Yeah, maybe.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m glad I’m here with you, Blaze. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

“Ditto to you too, Mr. Fluffy chest.”

They both laughed and hugged, an act of affection not normally shared between the two of them. But now, it just felt right.

“Let’s get down from here. We’re losing light fast.” Silver suggested. “I’m going to float you down. You okay with that?”

“If I keep my eyes closed, I should be fine.”

She felt his powers envelope her as she shut her eyes. It was a warm, tingly feeling, like thousands of small kisses. She felt herself slowly fall before eventually she feeling the ground beneath her feet again. She opened her eyes and saw Silver smiling at her. “I’m glad we came here, Silv.”

“Yeah, me too. I knew this place was special.”

They camped out under the bumper cars ride that night, and both fell asleep side by side as a calmness they hadn't felt in years enveloped the both of them. 

  
  



End file.
